Suspicious device detonated

Friday

Mar 22, 2013 at 12:01 AM

STOCKTON - Roadways were closed and the San Joaquin County Metro Bomb Squad was deployed Thursday morning after a pedestrian found what appeared to be a pipe bomb on the Highway 99 overpass at Waterloo Road, authorities said.

Jason Anderson

STOCKTON - Roadways were closed and the San Joaquin County Metro Bomb Squad was deployed Thursday morning after a pedestrian found what appeared to be a pipe bomb on the Highway 99 overpass at Waterloo Road, authorities said.

The San Joaquin County Sheriff's Office and the California Highway Patrol responded to the scene about 7:30 a.m. after someone discovered the device and alerted a nearby deputy, law enforcement officials said. It was located on a sidewalk on the east side of the overpass.

Deputy Les Garcia, a spokesman for the Sheriff's Office, described the device as a plastic pipe with a battery attached, but he wouldn't say whether it contained explosive material.

"We take every precaution with every suspicious device," Garcia said. "We treat them all as if they're real. The bomb squad does everything it can to keep law enforcement officers and the citizenry safe."

Observers heard two bangs when the bomb squad used explosive charges to neutralize the device, sending dust and debris into the air. Authorities instructed nearby businesses to keep employees and customers away from glass doors and windows, Garcia said.

Highway Patrol officers closed Waterloo Road in both directions for nearly four hours, said Officer James Smith, a spokesman for the CHP.

Northbound and southbound traffic on Highway 99 was stopped periodically until the bomb squad rendered the device safe and all roads were reopened about 11:30 a.m., Smith said.